Darius Gaiden

There's just something eminently playable about games like Darius Gaiden, an X-factor which accounts for the shooter genre's inability to die any sort of dignified death.

When I play a shooter, I look for one thing: mass destruction. I want to see nuclear bombs thrown with the casualness of firecrackers, I want to see my enemies wiped off the face of the map like so much dust, and Darius Gaiden delivers the goods.

This side-scroller has 28 levels of weird bosses, bizarre special weapons, exciting power-ups, and, if you so desire, two-player action so a buddy can join in the world-busting fun.

Graphics - 7

Sound/FX - 7

Gameplay - 7

Rating - 7

Along time has passed since we saw a good, honest, wholesome shooter.You know, without the bells and whistles afforded by 3-D technology, and polygons and stuff. Nope, Darius Gaiden is a refreshing blast from the past, and just in time to catch the mood of spring.Yup, the mood of wanton destruction and impossibly powerful weapons.

It couldn't be any more conventional if it tried. Darius Gaiden is as straightforward as they come.The screen scrolls from right to left as you (in your tiny spacecraft) deal with the marauding bad guys.

If there is anything original about Darius Gaiden, then it has to be the bad guys. To say they're fishy would not only be an understatement, but also a shockingly bad pun.Yup, the Darius baddies are from some mysterious undersea kingdom in the darkest reaches of space.

Your mission is to shoot them all. Every last one of them. If you don't think you have enough weapons, then shoot formations of bad guys to reveal more of them. And that's it really.